


the pendulum swings

by petcheetah



Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Miles Morales Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 09:37:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18427904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petcheetah/pseuds/petcheetah
Summary: Not two months after the death of his uncle Aaron, Miles is called to the police station.He runs.





	the pendulum swings

“I–I’m so sorry Miles… you’re parents— there was a hostage situation at the hospital. Your dad was the first on the scene… they had guns. Your mom tried to get to him and—”

The police officer paused. Looked around himself. The chair he had given to the Morales kid was empty, and Miles was gone. The door was left open, swinging with the force that it had been opened. The officer sat down in the chair with a heavy sigh, rubbing his face. He removed his glasses and wiped at the tears that were gathering.

_ I’m sorry Miles. _

 

Miles couldn’t bring himself to move. He sat in the darkness of an alleyway, staring forwards but not seeing anything. He knew he had made himself invisible but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It was better than being seen like this, he knew that much.

He couldn’t breathe.

Everything hurt, but he was not injured. He couldn’t bring himself to cry even though he knew that was the appropriate response to this kind of… situation.

The alleyway was quiet. It was painful. He wanted to scream at the world for doing this to him but he didn’t have that much effort left in him. He knew he would have to go back eventually but that was not now. He couldn’t bring himself to look anyone in the eyes after learning that his parents –  _ both his parents  _ – were…

They were gone.

_ Gone _ .

Never coming back.

_ Dead _ .

They had been shot in a hostage situation, protecting other people. They were the only ones to have lost their lives but– it hurt. It hurt so much. Of all the people in the world it had been his parents. Two people that he had looked up to his entire life, two people he had seen as impenetrable. Two people who  _ didn’t deserve this _ . But here they were. Here  _ he  _ was.

He had lost his uncle barely two months prior, and that wound was still raw. Now this…  _ now this _ . It hurt like he couldn’t believe and for a long, long moment all he wanted to do was sink into the ground and never return.

He couldn’t do that.

He pulled his bag off his back and unzipped it, ruffling through it with a haste he didn’t know he had. He reached the bottom eventually and pulled out the familiar black suit. He let himself flicker back into existence with a heavy breath, looked around the alley, and got changed. Under the suit, no one could see him. He was fine.

He was  _ fine _ .

He webbed his backpack to the underside of the garbage bin he had hidden himself behind, and off he swung.

 

Peter B. Parker had just finished with his patrol for the day, and was returning home to his once wife, now girlfriend. It had taken a lot of effort but eventually he and MJ had made up enough that both of them were willing to try again. They wanted to make their relationship work but they weren’t about to rush things. It was why he had agreed to split his patrols up into something similar to her work hours, allowing for them to have the time together they had barely been able to have in the past.

He had already changed clothes to something more appropriate for a normal citizen, and was ready to go home when suddenly a portal opened up in front of him and out tumbled one Gwen Stacy, dressed to the nine in her Spider-Woman suit.

Before he had a chance to ask  _ why was she here  _ he was pulled towards an alley with all the mutated strength a girl bitten by a radioactive spider had.

As soon as she was sure they were out of sight from any onlookers, she lifted her mask up and stared at him with worry painting her face.

“Gwen?” Peter asked, concerned.

Gwen drew in a deep breath, wringing her hands together.

“I can’t get through to Miles.” She told him.

Instantly, Peter froze. He had to take a few quick breaths to calm himself down.

“What do you mean you can’t get through to him?” Peter asked, as calm as he could, which bring who he was wasn’t saying much.

Gwen pulled out her phone and walked closer to him so now she was standing at his side. She showed him the screen, where she had Miles phone number pulled up. Together, they watched as she pressed call.

_ Ring, ring, ring, ring. _

The phone continued calling until it came up to the voicemail message.

The two Spider People looked at each other, thinking the exact same thing. Worry held them captive, grounding them to the floor.

_ Miles always answers his phone. _

Peter pulled out his own phone as he felt himself fill with fear.

 

He didn’t care. Not about himself, not about his parents, not about anything. None of that was important, he told himself. He swung through Brooklyn, uncaring of the fact that his arms were beginning to hurt with how long he had been moving for. Even his enhanced healing didn’t stop the throb caused by overexertion.

That didn’t matter. Moving as he was was the only thing stopping him from being pulled back into his thoughts. From being pulled back to the memories of his parents, looking at him  _ so, so proud _ .

_ “Miles.” _

Miles flinched and missed his next swing, plummeting through the air. He could just shoot another one but—

He let himself fall, crashing with a loud  _ Bang!  _ against the top of a garbage truck. He didn’t move. He just laid back against the roof of the truck, and stared up at the starless sky.

For a long, long while, he just remained frozen.

Then, under his mask, out of view from anyone, Miles began to cry.

 

“Shit.” Peter ran a hand through his brown hair, looking at Gwen who looked up at him with the same scared look he had.

“He’s not meant to be on patrol right now, right? It’s a Monday.” Gwen whispered, her eyes wide. Right now, she was just a kid worried for her best friend.

Peter sighed. Shook his head.

“No, he’s not. Call Peni for me, will you?” He asked.

Gwen didn’t even hesitate. She clicked away from Miles contact and went right to Peni’s, tapping on the girls phone number immediately.

_ Ring— _

The phone was picked up, and Gwen quickly switched the phone to speaker.

“Hello, Peni speaking!” Peni’s voice rung out, just as excited as she usually sounded. Peter and Gwen shared a look, and Peter took hold of the phone.

“Peni, it’s Peter B.” He quickly said.

Peni’s tone immediately went from excited to serious.

“B, hey. What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I need your help. Can you get me Miles’ location? He– he isn’t picking up his phone.”

At his side, Gwen leaned against his arm, clenching and unclenching her fist. She kept her eyes firmly trained on the phone in Peter’s hand.

“Miles isn’t—” Peni began, but she cut herself off and Peter could imagine her shaking her head, “Of course, B. Give me two ticks.”

It took less than a minute for Gwen and Peter to be given a location. They thanked the teen genius and she told them to call her back when they found him. They ended the call and both of them pulled out the gizmos Peni had made so they could each travel to one another’s universes without tearing apart the space time continuum. The coordinates were quickly put in and in a flash of light and colour the alleyway was once again empty.

 

Miles didn’t know how long he laid there, but it had been long enough that he could no longer bring himself to cry. He felt empty. Lost. His mask was stained wet with tears. He didn’t mind. There was no longer a point in ignoring it.

_ His parents were dead _ .

It was a fact. A point in time that couldn’t be rewritten. His universe’s Spider-man was dead, his uncle was dead, his parents were  _ dead _ . There was one thing all of them had in common.

He hadn’t been able to save them.

He was weak and useless and couldn’t protect anyone he cared about. He was alone now. His family was dead and never coming back and  _ it was his fault _ .

So much for being the new Spider-man when he couldn’t stop his own family from dying.

He was barely aware of himself as he stopped laying down and instead faced the roof of the garbage truck. His fist met the metal of the roof, again and again and again. The metal creaked and groaned, ready to snap.

He stopped. Breathed in, and out. And turned away from the truck, looking up at the tallest building close to him. He aimed, and his with a single tap he was flying towards the building. He climbed up, up, up, until eventually he stood at the tip of one of the tallest buildings in Brooklyn. He looked out at the skyline, at the cars and people that looked oh so small beneath him.

At any moment, someone else could die. Die because he was careless and stupid and upset and weak. He didn’t try and stop the tears as they once again began falling down his face. He lifted his mask up and just  _ sobbed _ .

 

They found Miles bag. It was webbed to the underside of a garbage bin in such a way that anyone would be able to see it. An amatures job, but still so obviously Miles. Gwen was the one to pull it off the bin, opening the bag up and checking inside. She looked up at Peter and at his knowing look, she nodded.

_ Yes, his suit is gone _ .

At once, they both sighed. Peter pulled open his bag and pulled out his mask before taking off his clothes, leaving him in his Spider-man costume that had been underneath. He swung his bag as well as Miles back over his shoulder.

He shared a glance with Gwen, and together they shot off, taking to the rooftops looking for Miles.

It took all of ten minutes until they saw the silhouette of a figure standing at the tip of a building.

They shot towards who had to be Miles faster than ever before.

 

He didn’t see them until they were directly in front of him. Even when he did, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Couldn’t bring himself to pull his mask back on in order the hide the tear tracks that lined his face. Couldn’t bring himself to do…  _ anything _ , really.

Peter B. and Gwen stopped in front of him. He could seem them slowly look him over, even without being able to see their eyes beneath the masks.

Their worry was palpable.

Peter stepped close to him, and Miles didn’t even notice as he stepped back.

Gwen removed her mask and Peter quickly followed suit. They looked terrified, for  _ him _ . He wanted them to leave. Their care was going to get them killed, just like what happened to everyone else that cared for him.

He went to swing himself off the building, away from them, but he was tired and Peter anticipated his movements. He was wrapped up in a tight hug before he had a chance to move. He didn’t struggle. Nevertheless, he didn’t hug back either. He was frozen in the arms of the older Spider-man who had no idea what was upsetting the boy so badly.

Gwen stood off to the side, unsure of what to do. Over Miles head Peter caught sight of her and tapped the gizmo on his wrist. Her eyebrows raised, but she was too concerned to disagree.

“Hey, buddy.” Peter quietly said, running his hand along Miles back softly, “Would you like to go home with me for a bit? You look like you need some rest, and I know you’re not going to want to worry your parents.”

Miles nearly let out another sob at his words. There was nothing he wouldn’t do just to hear them again, even if that meant he was worrying them. All he could do was nod against Peter’s chest.

Abruptly, Peter stepped away. Miles didn’t know how to react as the man immediately lifted him into his arms as if he was a child. He just let himself become weightless. He wouldn’t have been able to move himself anyway. Everything was too painful to do more than just breathe, and even that was a struggle.

He didn’t see Gwen as she helped put coordinates into his and Peter’s gizmo, and then into her own.

He was completely unaware of what was going on as he let himself be transported from one dimension to another.

 

MJ had been expecting her husband –  _ boyfriend  _ home an hour ago, and she was beginning to worry. They had laid out the ground rules back when they had gotten back together, and so far Peter hadn’t broken any of them without telling her why before hand. She knew he had a stressful time trying to balance his normal life with his life as a superhero, but he was getting better at letting her know if he needed to go be Spider-man instead of coming home for her carefully prepared dinner. So now that an hour had passed and he had still not replied to her text, she was worrying.

Then a flash of light shot through the dining room, and there was her boyfriend wearing his Spider-man suit with a dark skinned teenager in his arms that looked completely out of it. Behind them was another teenager – a girl – that MJ quickly recognised as Gwen Stacy who came to visit every now and then. MJ was quick to get to her feet, hurrying over to them all. Peter almost immediately let her take hold of the teen in his arms.

There was silent tears falling down the boy's face. He looked so utterly distraught and MJ could feel her heart breaking. She cradled him in her arms and brought him with her over to the couch, where she sat down carefully, making sure not to jolt the boy with her movements. He blearily looked up at her, looking far too alike to a newborn fawn. Tears gathered in her own eyes and she gently rocked him side to side, humming a small little tune as she did so.

She was only half aware of Peter and Gwen watching her and the boy in her arms – Miles, this had to be the Miles Peter always talked about – with so much concern and pain on their faces.

When even more tears fell down his face, MJ carefully brushed them away.

And her heart shattered when he said “mom?” and held the front of her dress shirt with a deliriously hopeful expression on his face.

She didn’t see the look on Gwen’s face or the way the girl began clicking at buttons on the thing on her wrist, barely even noticed the light that pulled through the room as the girl disappeared once more. Peter moved over to them and took his spot by MJ’s side, running his hand through Miles hair with a heartbroken look on his face that MJ hadn’t seen there since they had divorced.

 

Gwen fell to the ground the moment she looked at the letters detailing funeral arrangements on Miles desk.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m so sorry.


End file.
